Knox County Sheriff -
Sheriff J.J. Jones

Knox County Sheriff News

Two Cited for Animal Cruelty to Llama

Monday, 29 August 2011

Two Knox County people have been charged with animal cruelty regarding a llama that was being kept on their property. Pearl Scates of 9905 Coward Mill Road was cited with animal cruelty for not providing any medical care for the llama. Her son, Gerald Scates was issued two citations—one for animal cruelty and one for manner of keeping.

According to the report, on Sunday, August 21 at 11:30 a.m. Animal Control Officers were dispatched to the Coward Mill Road property due to an unknown caller making a complaint that a llama was not being taken care of properly. The officers found the llama with a large cut on his upper and lower lips to the point that the lips were just hanging by a small piece of flesh. They also saw barb wire fence wrapped around the animal. A feed bowl had what looked to be rain water with bugs in it. The llama was unable to stand up and Pearl Scates told officers the animal had been lying down for the past two days. She said her son owned the llama and was out of town and there was no way to reach him. The officer asked if she had contacted a veterinarian to treat the mouth injury and she said no, but she would call one to come shoot the animal.

At that point, the officer asked if she would sign ownership of the animal over to the Sheriff’s Office and she did. With the help of Horse Haven personnel and KCSO Animal Control Officers, the llama was loaded into a horse trailer and transported to the University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center. Vets treated the animal and had to shave him because his fur was so matted. Within a week he was standing again, his mouth healing after being stitched, he had a name, and a new owner. His name is now “Stamos” for the actor John Stamos. Seems the students at the Vet School thought he resembled the handsome entertainer. As for the new owner, she is veterinarian Trish Harrop. She hopes to take Stamos home sometime this week.

Dr. Harrop and Animal Control Officers were so touched by the plight of Stamos that they have donated their own money to the U.T. Vet School to go for his care.

Captain Bobby Hubbs who heads up the Animal Control Unit wants to stress that exotic animals such as llamas are not like normal livestock. Llamas especially need their fur trimmed in the summer. “People failing to provide water, food, and or medical care to animals can be prosecuted,” says Captain Hubbs. “In law enforcement we enter service to help those too weak to defend and protect themselves and we extend this philosophy to animal investigations, too.”